Civil Service (United Kingdom)

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v t e

His Majesty's Home Civil Service,

The Northern Ireland Civil Service is administered as a separate civil service in the United Kingdom.

History

Establishment

the incorruptible spinal column of England

— John Gunther, 1940^[11]

The Offices of State grew in England, and later the United Kingdom centred around the street

Under Charles Grant, the East India Company established the East India Company College at Haileybury near London, to train administrators, in 1806. The college was established on recommendation of officials in China who had seen the imperial examination system. In government, a civil service, replacing patronage with examination, similar to the Chinese system, was advocated a number of times over the next several decades.^[13]

The Northcote-Trevelyan model was characterised by a hierarchical mode of Weberian bureaucracy; neutral, permanent and anonymous officials motivated by the public interest; and a willingness to administer policies ultimately determined by ministers. This bequeathed a set of theories, institutions and practices to subsequent generations of administrators in the central state.[17]

The

Lord Fulton's committee report

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Following the Second World War demands for change grew again. There was a concern (illustrated in

Into Heath's Downing Street came the Central Policy Review Staff (CPRS), and they were in particular given charge of a series of Programme Analysis and Review (PAR) studies of policy efficiency and effectiveness.

But, whether through lack of political will, or through passive resistance by a mandarinate which the report had suggested were "amateurs", Fulton failed.^{[citation needed]} The Civil Service College equipped generalists with additional skills, but did not turn them into qualified professionals as ENA did in France. Recruits to the fast stream self-selected, with the universities of Oxford and Cambridge still producing a large majority of successful English candidates, since the system continued to favour the tutorial system at Oxbridge while to an extent the Scottish Ancient universities educated a good proportion of recruits from north of the border. The younger mandarins found excuses to avoid managerial jobs in favour of the more prestigious postings. The generalists remained on top, and the specialists on tap.

Margaret Thatcher's government

Margaret Thatcher came to office in 1979 believing in free markets as a better social system in many areas than the state: government should be small but active. Many of her ministers were suspicious of the civil service, in light of public choice research that suggested public servants (as well as elected officials themselves) tend to act in ways that seek to increase their own power and budgets. ^[19]

She immediately set about reducing the size of the civil service, cutting numbers from 732,000 to 594,000 over her first seven years in office.

Meanwhile, Michael Heseltine was introducing a comprehensive system of corporate and business planning (known as MINIS) first in the Department of the Environment and then in the Ministry of Defence. This led to the Financial Management Initiative, launched in September 1982 (Efficiency and Effectiveness in the Civil Service (Cmnd 8616)) as an umbrella for the efficiency scrutiny programme and with a wider focus on corporate planning, efficiency and objective-setting. Progress initially was sluggish, but in due course MINIS-style business planning became standard, and delegated budgets were introduced, so that individual managers were held much more accountable for meeting objectives, and for the first time for the resources they used to do so. Performance-related pay began in December 1984, was built on thereafter, and continues to this day, though the sums involved have always been small compared to the private sector, and the effectiveness of PRP as a genuine motivator has often been questioned.

In February 1988

The Next Steps Initiative took some years to get off the ground, and progress was patchy. Significant change was achieved, although agencies never really achieved the level of autonomy envisaged at the start.^[22] By 5 April 1993, 89 agencies had been established, and contained over 260,000 civil servants, some 49 per cent of the total.^[23]

The focus on smaller, more accountable, units revived the keenness of Ministerial interest in the perceived efficiencies of the private sector. Already in the late 1980s, some common services once set up to capture economies of scale, such as the

It was believed with the Thatcher reforms that efficiency was improving. But there was still a perception of carelessness and lack of responsiveness in the quality of public services. The government of John Major sought to tackle this with a Citizen's Charter programme. This sought to empower the service user, by setting out rights to standards in each service area, and arrangements for compensation when these were not met. An Office of Public Service and Science was set up in 1992, to see that the Charter policy was implemented across government.

By 1998, 42 Charters had been published, and they included services provided by public service industries such as the health service and the railways, as well as by the civil service. The programme was also expanded to apply to other organisations such as local government or housing associations, through a scheme of "Chartermark" awards. The programme was greeted with some derision, and it is true that the compensation sometimes hardly seemed worth the effort of claiming, and that the service standards were rarely set with much consumer input. But the initiative did have a significant effect in changing cultures, and paradoxically the spin-off Chartermark initiative may have had more impact on local organisations uncertain about what standards to aim for, than the parent Citizen's Charter programme itself.

Governance

Minister for the Civil Service

The position of Minister for the Civil Service is not part of the Civil Service as it is a political position which has always been held by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Head of the Home Civil Service

The highest ranking civil servant in the country is the Cabinet Secretary. A subsidiary title that was also held by the incumbent was Head of the Home Civil Service or more recently sometimes styled Head of the Civil Service,^[24] who until recently was also the incumbent Cabinet Secretary and Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office.^[25] However, following the Coalition Government of David Cameron the three posts were split from the single holder. The last person to hold all three positions together was Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Secretary, Head of the Home Civil Service and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, September 2005 – January 2012. The postholder is responsible for ensuring that the Civil Service is equipped with the skills and capability to meet the everyday challenges it faces and that civil servants work in a fair and decent environment. The postholder also chairs the Permanent Secretary Management Group and the Civil Service Steering Board which are the main governing bodies of the Civil Service.^[25]

It was announced on 11 October 2011 that, following O'Donnell's retirement at the end of 2011, the role of Head of the Home Civil Service would be split from the post of Cabinet Secretary; there would additionally be a new, separate, Permanent Secretary to lead the Cabinet Office.^[26] After O'Donnell's retirement, Jeremy Heywood replaced him as Cabinet Secretary – serving until 24 October 2018 when he retired on health grounds; Ian Watmore as Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary; and lastly, Bob Kerslake as Head of the Home Civil Service.^[27] In July 2014 it was announced that Kerslake would step down and Heywood would take the title of Head of the HCS while John Manzoni would be Chief Executive of the Civil Service.^[28] From 24 October 2018 to 4 November 2018, the office of Head of the Home Civil Service was vacant, as Heywood resigned on health grounds. Following Heywood's death, Mark Sedwill was given the additional Civil Service portfolio.

Permanent Secretaries Management Group (PSMG)

The PSMG considers issues of strategic importance to the Civil Service as a whole, as well as providing corporate leadership where a single position is required across all government departments.

The CSSB was established in 2007 and meets monthly.[33] Its role is to enhance the performance and reputation of the Civil Service by focusing on specific areas delegated to it by PSMG.^[33][34] The CSSB is chaired by the Head of the Home Civil Service.^[25]

Civil Service Commissioners

The Civil Service Commissioners are not civil servants and are independent of Ministers, they are appointed directly by the Crown under Royal Prerogative and they report annually to the King.^[35]

Their main role is regarding the recruitment of civil servants. They have the responsibility to ensure that all civil servants are recruited on the "principle of selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition." They maintain a recruitment code on the interpretation and application of that principle, and approve any exceptions to it. They audit recruitment policies and practices within the Civil Service and approve all appointments to the most senior levels of the Civil Service.^[36]

The Commissioners also hear and determine appeals in cases of concern about propriety and conscience raised by civil servants under the Civil Service Code which cannot be resolved through internal procedures.^[36]

Northern Ireland has a separate Commission called the Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland which has the same role.^[36][37]

Political neutrality

The Home Civil Service is a politically neutral body, with the function of impartially implementing the policy programme of the elected government.^[38][39][40]

Like all servants of the Crown, civil servants are legally barred from standing for election as Members of Parliament as they must uphold the duty of being politically neutral.^[41] Under regulations first adopted in 1954 and revised in 1984, members of the Senior Civil Service (the top management grades) are barred from holding office in a political party or publicly expressing controversial political viewpoints, while less senior civil servants at an intermediate (managerial) level must generally seek permission to participate in political activities. The most junior civil servants are permitted to participate in political activities, but must be politically neutral in the exercise of their duties.^[41] In periods prior to General Elections, the Civil Service undergoes purdah which further restricts their activities.

All civil servants are subject to the

The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of 2010–2015 had proposed introducing a more American style system where senior civil servants, such as permanent secretaries, became political appointees.[40] However, this was dropped after it was considered that the existing permanent civil service style was better-suited to the government of the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

The political neutrality of the civil service was called into question during the 2016 – 2019

In March 2023, Home Secretary Suella Braverman, in an email sent to Conservative Party supporters, criticised civil servants as being part of an "activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party" which blocked government efforts to stop small boat crossings. Dave Penman, general secretary of the Association of First Division Civil Servants, accused Braverman of breaching the ministerial code. In response, a Conservative Party spokesperson said that the Home Secretary had not seen the wording of the email prior to its sending.^[52]

Codes

Civil Service Code

A version of the civil service code was introduced in 2006 to outline the core values and standards expected of civil servants. The core values are defined as integrity, honesty, objectivity, and impartiality. A key change from previous values is the removal of anonymity within the core values.^[53] The Code includes an independent line of appeal to the Civil Service Commissioners on alleged breaches of the Code.

As of September 2020^[update] a version updated in March 2015, with the same core values, was current.

Civil Service Management Code

The Civil Service Management Code (CSMC) sets out the regulations and instructions to departments and agencies regarding the terms and conditions of service of civil servants. It is the guiding document which gives delegation to civil service organisations, from the Minister for the Civil Service, in order for them to make internal personnel policies.^[55]

Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code

The Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code is maintained by the Civil Service Commissioners and is based on the principle of selection on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.^[56]

Osmotherly Rules

The Osmotherly Rules set out guidance on how civil servants should respond to Parliamentary select committees.^[57]

Directory of Civil Service Guidance

A two-volume 125-page Directory of Civil Service Guidance was published in 2000 to replace the previous Guidance on Guidance, providing short summaries of guidance on a wide range of issues and pointing to more detailed sources.^[58]

Structure

The structure of the home civil service is divided into organisations, grades and professions. Each

Grading schemes

The grading system used in the civil service has changed many times, and the current structure is made up of two schemes. All senior grades (Deputy Director / Grade 5 level and above) are part of the senior civil service, which is overseen by the Cabinet Office on behalf of the civil service as a whole. Below the senior civil service, each individual department/executive agency can put in place its own grading and pay arrangements, provided they still comply with the central civil service pay and review guidance.

For other grades many departments overlay their own grading structure, however all these structures must map across to the central government structure as shown below.^[59]

All current grades are marked in   bold   and historical grade names are shown italics.

NB – XXX is standing in for

Professions

The lingua franca is to describe civil servants, and in particular their grades, predominantly through a lens of administrative activity (as in the current structure of the table above), but in practice the civil service has, and always had, a number of subdivisions, with the Historic Grades having an additional designator (usually omitted for senior managers, but included from middle and junior managers) as shown as "xxx", with the major groupings being:

• Executive ([x]EO)
• Scientific ([x]SO)
• Professional and Technology ([x]PTO)

The Current Structure identifies^[69] a number of distinct professional groupings:

• Communications and Marketing
• Economics
• Engineering
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Digital, Data and Technology (formerly Information Technology)
• Inspector of Education and Training
• Internal Audit
• Knowledge and Information Management
• Law
• Medicine
• Operational Delivery
• Operational Research
• Policy Delivery
• Procurement and Contract Management
• Programme and Project Management
• Property Asset Management
• Psychology
• Science
• Social Research
• Statistics
• Tax Professionals
• Veterinarian
• Other (for minority groups, such as Investigating Officers)

Recruitment data from the 2018 Civil Service Fast Stream process showed that white applicants were 15 times more likely to be recruited than black candidates.^[70]

Privilege days

A privilege day is a day of annual leave granted to employees of the civil service. These are in addition to bank holidays.

Before 2013, there were 2.5 privilege days each year:^[71][72]

• The King's Official Birthday. This is a full day usually attached to the Spring Bank Holiday, the last Monday in May, on either the Friday before the Bank Holiday or the Tuesday after (in order to create a four-day weekend), originally allocated in respect of the King's Official Birthday.^[72] In practice, the day the privilege day is taken is subject to local management policies; many staff prefer to take it at a date of their own discretion.
• Maundy Thursday. This was a half day on the afternoon of the Thursday of Holy Week.^[72]
• Christmas. This was an extra full day of leave at Christmas, in addition to the bank holidays of Christmas and Boxing Day. It was often arranged so as to connect the Christmas bank holidays to an adjacent weekend.^[72]

Since reforms by the Cabinet Office in 2013, the Maundy Thursday (Easter) and Christmas privilege days are no longer available for new civil servants. For civil servants who were in their positions when the changes came into force, these 1.5 days have been converted into additional annual leave. Because the Queen's Birthday privilege day was granted by Queen Victoria, it would have been difficult for the Cabinet Office to abolish it by an administrative measure, so the Cabinet Office decided to retain this as a privilege day.^[73] Privilege days still count as "working days" for the purpose of freedom of information requests.^[74]

In popular culture

The